Farewell to the Craft Box of Norman Road
HIP pays tribute to a local institution
The Craft Box of Norman Road closes its doors on May 21, and emotions are running high on Facebook.
“Noooooo!” wails Jessie Banks. “Such a wonderful antidote to online shopping,” writes Christian Clark. “They restarted my cross-stitch habit!” confides Councillor Adele Bates. “An actual useful shop, damn,” bemoans Richard Heslop. “An institution,” says Mary Jane Baxter, while Andie Taliadoros is “Absolutely gutted”.
“We didn’t know we had that many fans,” says Alan, hovering behind the till in his last week of trading. “It’s interesting how we seem to have provided a community service. People like to come in and feel the textures, see the fabrics.” They also like the prices. Alan and Sue did not get rich running this little shop. They did it, you might say, for love.
And they certainly didn’t shout about it. The shop front was a dark grey, fluorescent fishing nets the only splash of colour. There was no shop signage. No splashy window displays (vertical blinds drawn at 4.30pm on the dot). No presence on social media. We don’t even know their surnames because, as Sue told me firmly, “We’re very private people”. Yet for eleven years they have been at the beating heart of the St Leonards community.
There isn’t much Alan and Sue don’t know. “Someone once came in wanting frogs,” says Alan, a Scouser who used to work for Jessops selling photographic equipment. Luckily, Sue was to hand: frogs, a type of jacket fastening, were swiftly sourced. Sue is a plain-speaking Yorkshirewoman, a former office manager and skilled seamstress. There is nothing she can’t tell you about hindarm seams, darts or directional stitching.
“I’ve enjoyed explaining to people how to make their own bias binding,” she says, smiling coyly. “I’ve fixed a few customers’ sewing machines in my time.” There’s no article of clothing she can’t make: Alan’s trademark short-sleeved shirts are altered courtesy of Sue. Anything crafty gets her excited: cake decoration, jewellery making, rug tatting. She’s been happy to pass her analogue passions on to a younger, digital generation. “I’ve enjoyed seeing lots of 11 and 12-year-old girls getting into crafting and making things themselves.”
Sue feels strongly that social media is to blame for many of the world’s ills, and that the momentum of internet shopping is now irrevocable. “That was my motivation in setting this store up,” she says. “It’s a stand against internet shopping. Alan and I aren’t box-shifters, we understand what we’re selling, and we will do everything we can to help a customer get what they’re looking for.” “And if we haven’t got it, we’ll suggest a way to improvise,” adds Alan. Sue gives him a hard stare. Alan shrinks back behind the till, eyes downcast but still twinkling.
Their double act has become part of Norman Road’s DNA. Sue is a dragon – except she’s actually a softie, especially if you start talking bias binding and Frister Rossmanns. Alan, five years her junior at 67, is firmly under her thumb. Or is he? “With retail, you need to be in control but make the customer think they’re in control,” he tells me.
The Craft Box remained open during Covid – a bright spot on a deserted street. Their justification was ‘home and hardware’ (essential hand tools), but it was the hand-crafting materials that stopped many households from going mad. Residents of all ages began sketching, sewing and beading like never before. “We saved people’s sanity,” says Sue.
And now they are closing. The lease is up at the end of May, the stock will be packed into boxes and sold in dribs and drabs at the odd market stall.
A last, nostalgic cruise around that tightly packed place reveals macrame cord, an ‘Ultimate Bead Loom’, bean bag refill plastic pellets, sequins (of course!), self-adhesive eyes, jam pot covers, bra strap extenders, wallpaper glue brushes and ostrich feathers. Whatever your most niche need, it was likely The Craft Box would have it.
Alan and Sue, you will be sorely missed.
We hope you have enjoyed reading this article. The future of our volunteer led, non-profit publication would be far more secure with the aid of a small donation. You can also support local journalism by becoming a friend of HIP. It only takes a minute and we would be very grateful.
Leave a Reply